THE MATERNAL FAMILY AMONG THE KHASIS
There are, perhaps, no people among whom the family in the full
maternal form can be studied with more advantage than the Khasi Hill
tribes, in the north-east of India. This race has a special interest
as a people who, in modern times, have preserved their independence
and their ancestral customs through many centuries. We find
mother-descent strictly practised, combined with great and even
extraordinary rights on the part of the women. The isolation of the
Khasis may account for this conservatism, but, as will appear later,
there are other causes to explain the freedom and power of the Khasi
women. We are fortunate in having a fuller knowledge of the Khasi
tribes, than is common of many primitive peoples. Their institutions
and interesting domestic customs have been carefully noted by
ethnologists and travellers, and in all accounts there is united
testimony to the high status of the women. I will quote a statement of
Sir Charles Lyell,[73] which affirms this fact very strongly--
[73] In an Introduction to _The Khasis_, by P. R. Gurdon.
This work, written by one who had a long and intimate
knowledge of the Khasi tribes, gives an admirable account of
the people, their institutions and domestic life. See also
Sir J. Hooker, _Himalayan Journal_, Vol. II, pp. 273 _et
seq._; Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_; and a
series of papers by J. R. Logan, in the _Journal of the
Indian Archipelago_, 1850-1857. Mr. Frazer (_The Golden
Bough_, Part IV, _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, p. 387) gives a
short account of the Khasis; also McGee in the article _The
Beginning of Marriage_ already quoted.
"Their social organisation presents one of the most perfect
examples still surviving of matriarchal institutions carried
out with a logic and a thoroughness which, to those
accustomed to regard the status and authority of the father
as the foundation of society, are exceedingly remarkable.
Not only is the mother the head and source and only bond of
union of the family, in the most primitive part of the
hills, the Synteng country, she is the only owner of real
property, and through her alone is inheritance transmitted.
The father has no kinship with his children, who belong to
their mother's clan; what he earns goes to his own
matriarchal stock, and at his death his bones are deposited
in the cromlech of his mother's kin."
Such testimony cannot be put aside. I wish it were possible for me to
give a detailed account of this people, there is so much that is of
interest to us in their mother-right customs. All that I can do is to
note briefly a few of these, which to me seem specially important.
And first, in order to understand better their customs, let us
consider a few facts of the people themselves. The Khasis are a
vigorous and sturdy race. The men are short, but exceedingly muscular;
the women are comely, especially when young; and the children are
remarkably pretty. In both the sexes strongly developed calves are
considered a mark of beauty. It is interesting to note that the men
usually wear their hair long, and when it is cut short, a single lock
is preserved at the back, which is called _u niuhtrong_, "the
grandmother's lock." In some districts the men pull out the hairs of
the moustaches, with the exception of a few hairs on either side of
the upper lip. In character these people are independent, simple,
truthful and straightforward; cheerful in disposition, and
light-hearted by nature. They thoroughly appreciate a joke, especially
the women. Among the men there is some drunkenness, but not among the
women, though they are the chief distillers of spirits. Men and women
work together, usually at the same occupations. We learn that the
Khasis have an unusual love of nature, and are fond of music; thus
they have names for birds and flowers, also for many butterflies and
moths. These are traits not usually found in the people of India.
There is a point to note of special interest in their language. All
the nouns have a masculine and a feminine gender, and the feminine
nouns immensely predominate. The sun is feminine, the moon masculine.
In the pronouns there is one form only in the plural, and that is
feminine. It may seem that these matters--noted so briefly--are
unimportant; but it is such little things that deserve attentive
study. At least they serve to show that the Khasis have reached a high
level of primitive culture; and they indicate further the strong
importance of the feminine idea, which is the main interest in our
inquiry.
A few words must be said about the organisation of the tribes. These
tribes are formed in sections--of which the chief are the Khasi,
Synteng, and War. Each section or tribe is divided into clans and
sub-clans; these are strictly exogamous. To marry within the clan is
the greatest sin a Khasi can commit. This would explain the strict
reckoning of descent through the mothers.
The Khasi clan grew from the family. There is a saying common among
the people, _Long jaid ne ka kynthei_, "From the woman sprang the
tribe." All the clans trace their descent from ancestresses
(grandmothers) who are called _Ki Iwabei Tynrai_, literally,
_grandmothers of the root_, i. e. _the root of the tree of the clan_.
In some clans the name of the ancestress survives, as, for instance,
_Kyngas houning_, "the sweet one." _Ka Iaw shubde_ is the ancestress
of the Synteng tribe, and it is curious to note that she is credited
with having first introduced the art of smelting iron. She is also
said to have founded a market in which she successfully traded in
cattle.[74]
[74] _The Khasis_, pp. 62, 64, 82. All the facts I have given
of the Khasis are taken from Mr. Gurdon's work, unless
otherwise stated.
It is hardly possible to exaggerate the esteem in which the tribal
ancestress is held; she is so greatly reverenced that she may truly be
said to be deified. In such worship rests the foundation of the deep
tribal piety. _Ka Iawbei_, "the first mother," has the foremost place
of honour by her side, and acting as her agent is _U Suid Nia_, her
brother. There is another fact to show the honour in which the female
ideal is held. The flat memorial stones set up to perpetuate the
memory of the dead are called after the mothers of the clan, while the
standing stones ranged behind them are dedicated to the male kinsmen
on the female side. These table stones are exceedingly interesting.
They are exactly like the long stones and dolmens which are found in
Brittany, in Ireland, in Galicia in Spain, and other parts of Europe.
Is it possible that some of these memorials, whose history has been
lost, were also set up to commemorate the mothers of tribes? But be
this as it may, among the Khasis, where ancient custom and tradition
have been preserved, goddesses are more important than gods. Almost
all the other deities to whom propitiation is offered are female. Male
personages also figure, and among them _Thaulang_, the husband, is
revered.[75] Still the chief divinity rests in the goddesses; the gods
are represented only in their relation to them. The powers of sickness
and death are all female, and these are most frequently worshipped.
Again, the protectors of the household are goddesses. I wish that I
had space to write of their curious, yet beautiful, religious rites.
The sacrifices are communal in character; they are offered in times of
sickness and when dangers threaten the clan. Priestesses assist at all
sacrifices and the male officiants act only as their agents. The
household sacrifices are always performed by women.
[75] An incantation used in addressing this god begins: "O
Father, _Thaulang_, who hast enabled me to be born, who hast
given me my stature and my life." This is very certain proof
that the maternal system among the Khasis has no connection
with uncertainty of paternity.
Consider what this placing of their goddesses rather than their
gods--of the priestess rather than priest--in the forefront of their
worship signifies! Very plainly it reflects honour on the sex to which
the supreme deities belong. We need no clearer proof of the high
status of women among this people. Such customs are certainly
survivals[76] from the time of a more primitive matriarchate, when the
priestess was the agent for the performance of all religious
ceremonies. In one state a priestess still performs the sacrifices on
the appointment of a new Siem, or ruler. Another such survival is the
High Priestess of Nongkrem, in the Synteng district, who "combines in
her person sacerdotal and regal functions." In this state the
tradition runs that the first High Priestess was _Ka Pah Synten_, "the
flower-lured one." She was a beautiful maiden, who had her abode in a
cave at Marai, near Nongkrem whence she was enticed by means of a
flower. She was taken by her lover to be his bride, and she became not
only the first High Priestess of Nongkrem, but also the mother of the
Siems of Nongkrem.
[76] This is the opinion of Sir Charles Lyell and Mr. Gurdon.
We may compare the remark of Prof. Karl Pearson: "According
to the evidence not only the seers but the sacrificers among
the early Teutons were women."
It must be noted that the Siems or rulers of the states are always
men. They are chosen from the eldest sister's children. Possibly the
case of the High Priestess of Nongkrem, who is the nominal head of the
state, points to an earlier period of rule by women; but to-day the
temporal power is delegated to one of her sons or nephews, who becomes
the Siem. I need not labour this question overmuch; it is actualities
I wish to deal with. As I have repeatedly said, there is no sure
ground for believing that the maternal system involves rule by women.
This may have happened in some cases, but I do not think that it can
ever have been common. I am very certain, however, of the error in the
view which accepts the subordination of women as the common condition
among barbarous peoples, whereas there are indications and proofs in
all directions of a more or less strong assertiveness on their part,
and always in the direction of social unity and sexual regulation. The
fact that the maternal system resulted in the limitation of the
freedom of the male members of the family is, in my opinion, to be
attributed to those powerful female qualities which exercised an
immense influence on early societies. Regarding what has been said, I
think it cannot be denied that while individual rights were of far
more importance to the males, the idea of the family and social rights
were, in their turn, essentially feminine sentiments. Thus it was in
the women's interest to consolidate the family, and by means of this
their own power; and they succeeded in doing so to an extraordinary
extent in primitive communities, without help of the maternal customs,
which, as I have tried to make clear, arose out of the conditions of
the primordial family and by the action of the united mothers. If I am
right, then, here is the primary cause of the women's position of
authority in the communal maternal family.
I am very certain of the rights such a system conferred upon women;
rights that are impossible under the patriarchal family, which
involves the subordination of the woman to her father first and
afterward to her husband. In proof of this let us now consider
marriage and divorce, the laws of inheritance, and other customs of
the Khasis. And first we may note that polygamy--the distinctive
custom of the patriarchs--does not exist; as Mr. Gurdon remarks, "such
a practice would not be in vogue among a people who observe the
matriarchate." This is the more remarkable as the Khasi women
considerably outnumber the men. In 1901 there were 1118 females to
1000 males. At the present time the people are monandrists. There are
instances of men having wives other than those they regularly marry,
but the practice is not common. Such wives are called "stolen wives,"
and their children are said "to be from the top," _i. e._ from the
branches of the clan and not the root. In the War country the children
of the "stolen wife" enjoy an equal share in the father's property
with the children of the regular wife. Polyandry is said to be
practised, but the fact is not mentioned by Mr. Gurdon; in any case it
can prevail only among the poorer sort, with whom, too, it would often
seem to mean rather facility of divorce than the simultaneous
admission of plurality of husbands.[77]
[77] Fischer, _Tour. As. Soc._, Bengal, Vol. IX, Part II, p.
834.
The courtship customs of Khasi youths and maidens are simple and
beautiful. The young people meet at the dances in the spring-time,
when the girls choose their future husbands. There is no practice
among the Khasis of exchange of daughters; and there is an entire
absence of the patriarchal idea of their women as property. Marriage
is a simple contract, unaccompanied by any ceremony.[78] After
marriage the husband lives with his wife in her mother's home. Of late
years a new custom has arisen, and now in the Khasi tribe, when one or
two children have been born, and _if the marriage is a happy one_, the
couple frequently leave the family home, and set up housekeeping for
themselves. When this is done, husband and wife pool their earnings
for the support of the family. This is clearly a departure from the
maternal marriage, a step in the direction of father-right. Among the
Syntengs, the people who have most closely preserved the customs of
the matriarchate, the husband does not even go to live with his wife,
he only visits her in her mother's home. In Jowáy this rule is so
strict that the husband comes only after dark. He is not permitted to
sleep, to eat, or smoke during his visit--the idea being that as none
of his earnings go to support the home, he must not partake of food or
any refreshment. Here is a curious instance of etiquette preserving
these clandestine visits long after the time when such secrecy was
necessary. We may note another survival among the Syntengs. The father
is commonly called by the name of the first child, thus, the father of
a child called Bobon, becomes Pa-bobon.[79] This does not, I am sure,
point back to a period when paternity was uncertain, rather, it is an
effort to establish the social relation of the father to the family,
and is connected with domestic and property considerations, not at all
with relationship. The proof of this will appear in a later chapter.
[78] Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 57.
[79] McGee, _The Beginning of Marriage_.
Very striking are the conditions attaching to divorce. Again we find
the right of separation granted equally to both sexes, a significant
indication of the high position of women. Marriage being regarded as
an agreement between wife and husband, the tie may be broken without
any question of disgrace. But although divorce is frequent and easy,
and can be claimed for a variety of reasons, all who have dwelt among
the Khasis testify to the durable and happy marriages among them. Only
when they find it impossible to live amicably together do a couple
agree to separate. In this event the children always remain with the
mother. For their mothers the children cherish a very strong
affection, for all their sympathies and affection bind them to her and
her family.
The conditions of divorce vary in the separate tribes. Among the
Khasis both parties must agree to the dissolution of the tie. With the
Synteng and War tribes such mutual consent is not necessary, but the
partner who claims release from the other, without his or her consent,
must pay compensation. A woman cannot be divorced during pregnancy.
The form of divorce is simple; among the Khasis it consists of the
exchange of five cowries. This is done in the presence of witnesses,
and the ceremony must take place in the open air. Then a crier goes
around the village to proclaim the divorce, using the following
words--
"_Kaw_--hear, oh villagers! that--U and K have been
separated in the presence of the elders. _Hei!_ thou, oh
young men, canst go and make love to K--for she is now
unmarried, and thou, oh maidens, canst make love to
U--_Hei!_ there is no let or hindrance from henceforth."
And here I would pause, although it leads me a little aside, to make a
point that to me seems to be of special importance. Obviously this
simple divorce by mutual consent was made easy in its working by the
maternal system. The great drawback to the dissolution of the marriage
tie in the patriarchal family is the effect it has on the lives of the
children; but in the maternal family such evil does not exist, for
the children always live with the mother and take her name. By saying
this, I do not wish to imply that I am necessarily recommending such a
system, but that it had its advantages for the mother and her
children, I think, cannot be denied. Its failure arises, as is
evident, from the alien position of the father in relation to his
children.
In the primitive maternal family the place of the father, to a great
extent, is filled by the maternal uncle. Among the Khasis he is
regarded in the light of a father. It is his duty to assist the mother
in the management of the family. The husband is looked upon merely as
_u shong kha_,[80] a begetter. Only by the later marriage custom, when
the wife and children leave the home of her mother, has the father any
recognised position in the home. "There is no gainsaying the fact,"
writes Mr. Gurdon, "that the husband is a stranger in the wife's home,
and it is certain he can take no part in the rites and ceremonies of
his wife's family."
[80] _The Khasis_, p. 81.
The important status assigned to women becomes clearer when we
consider the laws of inheritance. Daughters inherit, not sons. The
youngest daughter is heiress to the family property, but the other
daughters are entitled to a share on the mother's death. No man can
possess property unless it is self-acquired. Among the Synteng, such
property on the man's death goes to his mother. This would seem to be
the primitive custom. There is now a provision that, if the wife
undertakes not to re-marry she has half of her husband's property,
which descends to her youngest daughter. In the Khasi states a man's
property, if acquired before his marriage, goes to his mother, but
what is gained afterwards goes to the wife, for the youngest daughter.
Only in the War country do the sons inherit from the father with the
daughters, but something in addition is given to the youngest
daughter. The family property always descends in the female line. For
this reason, daughters are of more importance than sons. A family
without daughters dies out, which among the Khasis is the greatest
calamity, as there is no one qualified to bury the dead and perform
the religious rites. Thus both the Khasis and the Syntengs have a plan
of adoption. The male members of any family, if left without females,
are allowed to call in a young girl from another family to perform the
family religious ceremonies. She takes the place of the youngest
daughter, and becomes the head of the household. She inherits the
ancestral property.
In the face of these facts it can hardly be denied that mother-right
and mother-power among the Khasis are still very much alive. Here at
least descent through the mother does involve power to women, and
confers exceptional rights, especially as regards inheritance. I have
already called attention to the equality of the women with men in the
code of sexual morality. This is so important that it is worth while
to follow it a little further. That freedom in love carries with it
domestic and social rights and privileges to women I have no longer
to prove. We found the same freedom under the maternal family among
the Iroquois and Zuñi Indians: there courtship was in the hands of the
woman; there also divorce was free, and a couple would rather separate
than live together inharmoniously. I have given proof of the happy
domestic life of these peoples. Equality in the sexual relationships
has always been closely associated with the status of women. Wherever
divorce is difficult, there woman's lot is hard, and her position low.
It is part of the patriarchal custom which regards the man as the
owner of the woman. It would be easy to prove this by the history of
marriage in the races of the past, as also by an examination of the
present divorce laws in civilised countries. I cannot do this, but I
make the assertion without the least shadow of doubt. "Free divorce is
the charter of Woman's Freedom." I would point back in proof to these
examples of the maternal family, foremost among whose privileges is
this equality of partnership in marriage. Here you have before you,
solved by these primitive peoples, some of the most urgent questions
that yet have to be faced by us to-day. To hear of peoples who live
gladly, and without those problems that are rotting away our
civilisation, brings a new courage to those of us, who sometimes grow
hopeless at our own needless wastage of love and life.
I must not say more upon this question, though it is one that tempts
me strongly. It is not, however, my purpose in this book to offer
opinions of my own on these problems of the relations of the two
sexes; I prefer to leave the facts of the mother-age to speak for
themselves. Those whose eyes are not blinded will not fail to see.[81]
[81] Mrs. Chapman Catt has an article in the April number of
_Harper's Magazine_ on "A Survival of Matriarchy." It gives
an account of her visit to the Malay States, and the
favourable position of the women under the maternal customs.
I have received a letter from the great American champion of
Women's Rights in which she states how pleased she is that I
am writing this book on the Mother-age. "There are many
facts," she says, "of the early power of women which the
great world does not know."